The iPhone won’t officially launch on China Mobile until January 17, but the world’s largest mobile carrier has already begun accepting preorders for the iPhone 5s and 5c.

In terms of numbers, analysts Wedge Partners place the preorder figure at around 100,000 for the first two days of availability.

While this is certainly a sizable figure, it is worth noting that it is less than the number of preorders racked up by smaller carriers China Unicom (120,000) and China Telecom (150,000) when they took preorders for the devices back in September — as well as a tiny fraction of the overall 763 million customer base of China Mobile.

Before people start panicking however (something certain individuals are inclined to do when it comes to Apple’s dealings with China Mobile) it is worth noting two things.

First of all, these are early figures based on a single estimate. Secondly, the iPhone 5s and 5c are two months old now — while China Mobile isn’t offering any substantial savings to set it apart from its rivals.

According to Wedge Partners, China Mobile’s iPhone subsidies are similar to China Telecom’s and slightly higher than China Unicom’s.

One thing’s for sure: Apple’s continued expansion in Asia is going to be one of the big stories to follow in 2014.

From what I’ve read, there haven’t been any subsidies or prices announced so I think it would be important to wait for those figures first. I know everyone is sure that the iPhone is going to be a big flop on China Mobile but it’s too soon to tell with over a half a month to go before actual sales start. These analysts get so antsy and can’t wait for any concrete numbers from an official source.

lakerice

Third, millions of China Mobile subscribers are already using iPhones.

rcloud

I think the preorder number is only for Beijing.

About the author

Luke Dormehl is a UK-based journalist and author, with a background working in documentary film for Channel 4 and the BBC. He is the author of The Formula: How Algorithms Solve All Our Problems, And Create More and The Apple Revolution, both published by Penguin/Random House. His tech writing has also appeared in Wired, Fast Company, Techmeme, and other publications. He'd like you a lot if you followed him on Twitter.

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